Hi Stew, I have to say the machining of the guide was very interesting, and very well done, particularly considering its complexity, and the percentage of it which remained when the machining was done. As a side note, should you need a boring bar for something that deep, a piece of steel tube or pipe, filled with lead or solder, with a solid end to hold a cutter will do very well at great depths with a sharp edge and light cuts. I also wanted to say how cunning and beautiful the con rod has turned out, very well done, both mechanically, for strength, and esthetically, looking like architechture. I am a big fan of simplicity, and of parts holding each other in place by the nature of their fitment. The inclusion of the CAD picture also helps put your work in better perspective and shows it off better as well.

I think perhaps I need to quit working so I have more time to build engines and such for pleasure, but then I couldn't afford the tooling. I could sit and go through your log many times, over and again, seeing different details each time. I'm really looking forward to watching her run, I hope you do her on steam for the video

I've got a small "boiler" from a carpet machine which I intend to use for a test boiler, as a proper engine should have a proper boiler, but I can't throw away a perfectly good boiler, when it could be used for test purposes. It is hard to say too many times, just how nicely she is coming along.

Cheers, mad jack